Studies of Welfare Populations Data Collection and Research Issues (2002) / Chapter Skim
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3 High Response Rates for Low-Income Population In-Person Surveys
3 High Response Rates for Low-Income Population In-Person Surveys
Pages 86-104
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From page 86... ...
THE CONTEXT In the Best Practices booklet published by the American Association of Public Opinion Research (1997a) 1 of the 12 named "best practices" is to maximize cooperation or response rates within the limits of ethical treatment of human subjects (p.
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From page 87... ...
This lack of telephone service shows the importance of expanding the mode of data collection for low-income persons beyond telephone surveys. Nonresponse rates by income type show that refusals are lowest for low-income populations (Groves and Couper,1998~.
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Networks Study used targeted chain referral sampling to build its list sample.) Five NORC surveys will be referenced to illustrate methods for finding and interviewing these populations.
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From page 89... ...
(Table 3-1 provides some basic information about the studies we will reference in the paper as: the Seattle Study, the Woodlawn Studies, the New York Minority Youth Study, and the D.C. Networks Study.)
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From page 91... ...
. Centralizing this locating effort allows efficient access to
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The field manager in charge organized night-time locating trips into the areas of Seattle where the homeless gather. Two or three field interviewers would travel with the field manager into the core area of the city searching for respondents among those waiting in line for entrance into a shelter for the night, or among those patrons in the taverns and bars frequented by street people.
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From page 93... ...
On the Woodlawn Studies in which the original respondents were first graders enrolled in elementary school in an inner-city, predominantly African American urban neighborhood in 1966 and 1967, the locating challenges were enormous. The client had made interim contacts with some respondents, but much of the sample information was very old, so the field staff relied on intensive locating efforts in the neighborhood.
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From page 94... ...
Contingency planning within the constraints of the research goals must be addressed in a timely manner. For example, the Seattle Study was tasked to begin on short notice, with no flexibility on the start date.
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NORC experience with studies involving hard-to-reach populations and/or sensitive topics supports the findings by Groves and Couper that experienced interviewers are more adept at gaining cooperation than inexperienced interviewers. Those who thrive in the interviewing environment see these situations as personal challenges to which they apply their skills gained from earlier experiences.
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From page 96... ...
Training Interviewers must be well versed in basic interviewing techniques, including reading questions as worded, neutral probing, "training" the respondent, and confidentiality. At NORC, these basic topics are covered in an eight hour general interviewing techniques training session, which is required of all interviewers new to NORC.
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From page 97... ...
Networks Study, attended an HIV conference to make them more aware of the types of situations facing potential respondents. Traveling Interviewers Supplementing local interviewers with a team of highly experienced traveling interviewers is a strategy that has been successful and cost effective on these studies.
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From page 98... ...
Site Office A centrally located site office, whether for the duration of the study or just during the startup and the final crunch phase of the data collection effort, has proven beneficial. On the Woodlawn Studies, the field management staff were based at an office at NORC's University of Chicago location.
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From page 99... ...
On the New York Minority Youth Study, the front-line field manager believed that having a site office for the field interviewers helped in many ways. The respondent population was very transient, presenting multiple locating, refusal aversion, and conversion problems.
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From page 100... ...
When extending the data collection period may not be feasible, as was the case during the baseline interviewing for the Seattle Study, other contingencies were adopted, such as keeping the travelers on site longer than anticipated originally. Others included the need for attrition training if interviewers dropped out for one reason or another, lowering targeted response goals, and so on.
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From page 101... ...
On the training front, it is important to cover issues related to training the respondent and gaining cooperation, along with examples and opportunities for practice, throughout the course of training. On the field support front, having a site office where interviewers and field managers can interact in person and brainstorm and allow early intervention if a problem is developing further supports the opportunities for interviewers to learn how important tailoring and maintaining interaction can be.
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From page 102... ...
:1-8. Day, Neil Atherton, David Dunt, and Susan Day 1995 Maximizing response to surveys in health program evaluation at minimum cost using multiple methods.
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Department of Health and Human Services by Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Contract #06587-005.
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From page 104... ...
Unpublished paper prepared for the Fall 1999 Welfare Outcomes Grantee Meeting of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Washington, DC, October 25-26.
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